Pet Food Kills Dogs

By
Kerri O'Hara

July 22, 2010Updated Jan 10, 2006 at 3:37 PM EST

"It was really sad for my kids and the dog could barely walk, she was so sick," says dog owner Jane Marie Law. 3 year old, Tavi was the Law family's first pet. Jane Marie Law says the active poodle couldn't be stopped, until she ate a dry dog food, distributed by Diamond Pet Food. "She started to get more sedate and we thought finally our dog was going to become like everyone's standard poodle that looks like it will do the crossword puzzle with you," says Law. But instead, Tavi's liver had become infected by aflatoxin. It's a naturally occurring chemical that comes from a fungus sometimes found on corn and other crops. Aflatoxin made its way into the pet food. "The eventual change is that the liver cell is unable to remove toxins from the blood and is unable to synthesize necessary things for normal health," says Dr. Sharon Center of Cornell University. Dr. Center has worked at Cornell University since 1975, an expert on liver disease in dogs and cats. She says signs like loss of energy and appetite, vomiting, and jaundice in the eyes and mouth may not show up for weeks after eating the food. 17 dogs who have eaten Diamond Pet food have been sent to Cornell University's animal hospital. Out of those 17, seventy percent have passed away. But little Tavi still has a shot. Doctors are giving Tavi fluids and plasma, hoping to nurse her back to health. It's costing the Law family 900 dollars a day. Money that's well worth it for this dog owner. "In our family it was just an empty sofa and it was really hard, but we might get to take her home in a couple days. We hope she survives and if she does it's because we had literally the smartest people in the country," says Law. Once again, here's the information on the contaminated dog and cat food made by the Diamond Pet Food Company in South Carolina. It was sold under the Diamond Country Value and Professional brand names. There are 19 varieties with date codes March 1st, 2007 through June 11th, 2007. The recall was announced 2 weeks ago. The government says nearly 2 dozen dogs have died, and many more became sick. The Food and Drug Administration is investigating.